Russian TV journalists pester McFaul

Apr 05, 2012

Eugene Ivanov

Drawing by Sergei Yolkin

U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul complains that Russian reporters from the state-sponsored NTV channel pursue him relentlessly.

U.S. Ambassador
to Russia Michael McFaul is likely to accomplish something none of his
predecessors ever dreamed of: he is becoming a household name. His ascension to the status of celebrity of
sorts might be surprising; yet, it’s hardly accidental.

Attention to
McFaul’s persona was first drawn last year when U.S. President Barack Obama surprisingly
tapped him, a diplomatic novice, to replace seasoned career diplomat John
Beyrle as the envoy to Moscow. By nominating McFaul, the White House was
sending a message that the Obama administration was going to pay more attention
to the issue of human rights in Russia. McFaul, one of the leading U.S. experts in
“democracy promotion,” was supposed to personify this policy shift. Characteristically, even sworn enemies of the
administration’s Russia
policy hailed McFaul’s nomination.

McFaul didn’t disappoint his
supporters. His “democracy promotion”
credentials went to work immediately after his arrival in Moscow: In his second day on the job, McFaul
invited a group of Russian opposition politicians and civil society activists
to the ambassador’s residence, Spaso House.
The meeting was extensively covered by the Russian media. It appears that hosting social events will
become a prominent venue for McFaul to keep himself visible. Last week, he threw a party featuring a folk
band that was flown to Moscow from McFaul’s
native Montana. Images of the ambassador dancing with his
wife were promptly made available to the electronic and print media.

In addition,
McFaul is working hard to establish his presence in social networks. His first post (in Russian) on LiveJournal, a
popular blogging portal, appeared on the day of his arrival in Russia. McFaul also opened a Twitter account where he
writes both in English and Russian.

At the same
time, the ambassador doesn’t forget what he promised during his Senate
confirmation hearings: to meet regularly with the Russian opposition. One such meeting got him in trouble. Last Thursday, having arrived for a chat with
the human rights activist Lev Ponomarev, McFaul was confronted by a group of
young people with a camera who introduced themselves as reporters from the
state-sponsored NTV station. According
to McFaul, for several minutes, the “crew” had prevented him from entering into
the building.

Later, McFaul
let his frustration into the open on Twitter.
He complained that the NTV reporters stalked him everywhere he went to
and wondered how they knew his schedule.
McFaul even suggested that NTV employees read his emails and listen to
his phone.

If someone
hoped to treat this story as a benign street encounter, this hope was quashed
by the U.S. State Department’s formal complaints to the Russian Foreign
Ministry alleging that McFaul’s “security and safety” had been
compromised. Incidentally, this is not
for the first time that Russian youngsters – with TV cameras or without – have
harassed foreign diplomats, and it’s hard to believe that the Russian
authorities weren’t aware of the accidents or couldn’t do anything about it.

Naturally, the
NTV officials dismissed McFaul’s charges of eavesdropping and instead
attributed their knowledge of the ambassador’s whereabouts to the extensive
network of “informants.” The Russian
Public Chamber threw its support behind NTV, arguing that there was nothing
wrong with journalists’ desire to “learn more about a public figure – an
ambassador, a patriarch or politician.”
A patriarch? Can anyone imagine
an NTV crew constantly following Patriarch Kirill?

McFaul knows Russia well and
is aware that “promoting democracy” there is a safe business for a foreign
diplomat – as opposed to some other countries where his colleagues can leave
the embassy compound only with an escort of armored vehicles. Yet, having spent the bulk of his
professional life in the academic environment, McFaul didn’t learn what other
celebrities around the world know all too well: increased public profile comes
at the price of reduced privacy and additional security challenges. It’s time for McFaul to learn this lesson
now.

At the same
time, one can’t deny McFaul’s remarkable ability to use his current job
position to advance future career aspirations.
Once can be sure that for the rest of his life – and certainly during
his next Senate confirmation hearings – he’ll carry the NTV encounter as a
badge of honor.